Steinberger



Feb. 28, 1956 F, STEINBERGER 2,736,162

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR FEEDING SLIVER Filed July 29, 1952 2 Sheets-Sheet l o o O a a5 35 7 N 1 l5 l5 /0 n 36 //.9 P

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ATTORNEYS 1956 F. STEINBERGER METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR FEEDING SLIVER Filed July 29, 1952 '2 Sheets-Sheet 2 z'ger;

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h w M Q IIIIIIIIIII J 2 J m J 2 u Z////////I/AI ATTORNEYS United States Patent" METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR FEEDING SLIVER Franklin SteinbergeqBardonia,=N. Y.

Application July 29, 1952,.SerialNo. 301,433

14 Claims. (Cl. -5761) Broadly, the invention consists in-the feeding to aspinning frame of sliver (including -a slightly-twisted sliver -or roving), i. e., a strand of fiberin loose untwisted or slightly twisted state, from -a -rotating-supply can; in-- ser-ting the desired twist in-the'sliver-or rovingduring-' its feeding by passingnit between a-compacting guideorfunnel rotated with the a can and a stationary compacting guide, and then feeding the sliver to aspinning frame Where it is successively drawn and twisted.-

The invention facilitates .the supplying-to a-spinning frame of sliver havingthe optimum twist, either for-best spinning, for increased draft-,or for-carrying unsupported lengths of sliver without breakage, and-:permits-utilizing the sliver directly without the insertion of twist'as-an' additional operation. In most instances, it wil-ljbedesired to increase :the twist of, theslivenduring-feeding and the twist will be additive -to-any.-twist already pres-- ent,v butinsome instancesit may be.desirableto. reduce the twist and the twist inserted during .feedingwillbesubtractive (in the opposite direction tonthat.alreadypres! ent).

It is, accordingly, amongthe objects of theepresentt: invention to providean improved method andapparatus== for providing the desired twist in sliverqbeing suppliedstow a spinning frame, and to generallytimprove mechanisms and methods for feedingsliver to..a spinning frame.

Other objects, andobjects relating .to.. details and;

economies of construction. and;.us e, willnnore definitely appear from the detailed vdescription; -to .-follo.w.;

My invention is clearly defined in the appended :clairns.

In the,-,claims,- as well as in the description, parts are-atvenience, but such-nomenclature ,is' to be understood-as: having the broadest -meaning consisten t with--the,;contex;

and with the concept of; my invention as,- distinguished from ;the pertinent; prior art; Thebesiiform inwhich I have contemplated applying my invention-isillustratedin the accompanying drawings;fqrmingpartmf:this specie;

fication,v in which:

a enm t e, .v ew nr:and.e ev iqmet:

duplex. or; two-sided spinning .-frarn present;- invention n ludi a -.s 2-: feed and twisting mechanism accordance .-with; the

ig- 2 s. a vd ag n n er a me tary- P an w u e Portion of the sliver feed ndtwistins ,me.hen. .sm:-;

Fig; 3 is a vertical cross;=seetion talg n; generally through 1 the. axis of the sliver feed ,can

g- ;4 a enlarged, m ntary; so heti e amw maticplan yiewof thesliverofagfeed rotatinggnechw nism for g a single can Referrin ew h raw ggFig, 1 is a.. e rem-. made-illustration of an, organization ,including an end.,

ice

view of a duplex or two-sided spinning frame generally indicated as 10. The'spinning frame 10, which may be of any conventional type, is provided with sets of drawing-rolls 11, 11- and spindles '12, 12 for receiving bobbins .14, 14. provided withastop motion for each sliver or strand, including the stop motion clamp 15 and the usual drop wire. ieeler 16. The-feeler actuates an electric circuit (not shown) to arrest the feeding of the sliver in the event that the strand breaks and the feeler 16 drops. A stop-motion system such as that shown in the U. S. patent to Chapin, No. 211,222, may be used in the apparatus of the present invention.

The present invention deals particularly with the feedingof sliver (including roving) to the spinningframe 10. The sliver I7 is initially loosely coiled as by a can coiler ina cylindrical feed can 19, the can 19 being spaced from the spinning frame 10 a sufficient distance to allow an aisle for easy passage of the operator in tending .the machine. Preferably, the sliver 17 is passed overhead over the aisle and to the spinning frame, as will be explained.

The feed can.19 (see Fig. 3) is rotatably mounted on a, feed-can-rotating mechanism generally indicated'as 20.; The feedecan-rotating mechanism 20 consists in general of a.housing 21 provided with a driving cone 22,rot atably mounted in the housing by a spindle 24 carried within a sleeve 28 received in bearings 23. The driving cone.;22, whose driving surface is frustoconical in shape, frictionally engages a mating frustoconical driven-portion ZSintegral with the base of the feed can I 19,'-s0:that: rotation of the driving cone 22 on its spindle 24 rotates the feed can about its axis.

The-driving cone 22 interfits with, and is rotated by aconcentric .pulley .26 which ismounted on sleeve 28. The driving; cone 22is urged upwardly intoengagement with the driven portion-25 of the feed can 17 by a compression spring 27 locatedaxially of the spindle 24." A-

collar 29 onthe spindle and a clutch lever 30 'pivotally mounted on the housing 21 serve to retract the driving cone22 from-thefeed-can 19 upon operation of the clutch lever 30; Preferably, the clutch lever is foot operated.

The upper endof the feed can 19 is received within a.can-guide--31. The can guide 31 has a lower end 32 The can guide 31 is provided at its converging upper,

end with an axial sliver compacting passage or funnel 39. A short distance above the upper end of the can guide 31 andalso located axially of the can-is a stationary sliver compacting funnel 40 which may be supported from the,

lateral member 37 of the can guide 31. The sliver 1'7 being fedyfrom the can 19 first passes through'thefunnel-39 which is rotated Within said can and then through i the statienaryrfunnel. 40, after which it may be passed overtwo or.more idler rolls 41, 41 to carry the. sliver; above the aisle. separating the feed can from-the spinning frame, after..which.the sliver, is passed down to, the spinning frame for the drafting and spinning operation. The

funnels .39. and 40,.frictioi1ally bind or compress the sliven 17 suificiently so that rotation of the funnel 39 twists the sliver in the, space between the. funnels.

Inasmuch, as the, ,,feed cans, are relatively large, they.

mustbeplacedin, two or more rows, as indicated: in Fig.

Each side of the spinning frame 10 is' 2, so as to maintain each feed can generally opposite the spindle which it is feeding. In Fig. 2, three rows of feed cans are shown, although a lesser or greater number of rows may be used.

The driving cone 22 for each feed can is rotated at a predetermined, relatively slow speed by a mechanism generally indicated in Fig. 2, including a belt 42 which is received on rollers 44 and extends about a group of feedcan-rotating mechanisms. The belt 42 may be driven by an electric motor 45 connected with one of the rollers 44.

The driving of each individual feed can may be controlled by a roller 46 which is pressed between the periphery of the pulley 26 and the belt 42, the roller 46 being rotatably mounted on a carrier 47 which is urged outwardly into roller-engaging position by a spring (not shown). An electric solenoid mechanism 49 serves to retract the roller 46 from engagement with the belt 42 and the pulley 26, operation of the solenoid being controlled by the drop wire feeler 16 and also by the clutch lever 30,

so that actuation of either the feeler or the clutch lever will retract the roller 46. Upon retraction of the roller 46, a brake member 50 pivotally mounted on the roller carrier 47, is engaged against the periphery of pulley 26, so as to brake the can-rotating mechanism to a stop if the feeler drops or it is desired to replace a feed can. Preferably, the brake member 50 is urged into engagement with the pulley 26 by a spring 51 which urges the brake member against a pin 52 mounted on the housing 21, retraction of the roller 46 and its carrier 47 permitting the brake member to swing about the pin 52 and into engagement against the pulley.

The operation of the feed mechanism is such that, as the sliver 17 is being withdrawn from the feed can 19, it is held by the rotating funnel 39 and stationary funnel 40 so as to insert a twist in the sliver as it passes the funnels. The twist may be definitely controlled by the rate of feed of the sliver and the rate of rotation of the feed can. Thus, without an additional operation, a sliver having precisely the desired twist may be fed to the spinning frame and, should an end go down and the drop wire feeler 16 fall, the rotation of the can is immediately stopped to avoid further twisting of the sliver while the sliver feed is arrested.

Even when feeding modern high-speed spinning frames, the feed cans 19 will not have to be changed often since these cans are relatively large and will provide for uninterrupted feeding of the sliver over a relatively long period of time, thus requiring less attention from the operator. The feed cans are easily changed by foot operation of the clutch lever 30, which stops rotation of the feed can and drops the can downwardly from within the can guide 31. This permits the top of the can to be moved laterally from beneath the can guide, after which the can can be removed from the driving cone 22. The new can may then be placed on the driving cone 22, the top edge of the can moved beneath the can guide 31, and the clutch lever released to raise the can to driving position and initiate rotation of the can.

It will usually be possible to splice the new end of sliver onto the end of the old sliver; but, in the event that the sliver has been permitted to run out completely, the new end can be threaded through the funnels 39 and 40 and to the spinning frame.

The following specific example, which is illustrative and not to be interpreted as limiting the invention, will show the operation of the above-described mechanism. As an example, where it is found desirable to have onehalf turn per inch in the sliver fed to the spinning frame and taking a typical modern spinning frame making single 8s count worsted yarn with a spindle speed of 8500 R. P. M. (e. g., a centrifugal pot), in which 59 yards of yarn per minute is delivered to the bobbin and in which the drafting rolls produce a draft of 10 times upon the sliver delivered thereto, 5.9 yards per minute of sliver will be fed from the can (disregarding twist take-up).

To produce the desired twist of one-half turn per inch in such sliver and assuming that the sliver has substantially no initial twist, it will, therefore, be necessary to rotate the can at 106 revolutions per minute.

I claim:

1. The method of continuously twisting and feeding sliver to a spinning frame, said sliver being loosely coiled Within a cylindrical feed can, comprising: withdrawing the sliver axially of the feed can and through a compacting funnel whose axis is aligned with the axis of the can while rotating the can and funnel together about their axes at a predetermined speed, then drawing the sliver through a stationary compacting funnel, and then passing the twisted sliver. to the spinning frame.

2. The method of continuously twisting and feeding sliver to a. spinning frame, said sliver being loosely coiled within a cylindrical feed can, comprising: withdrawing the sliver axially of the feed can and through a compacting funnel whose axis is aligned with the axis of the can while rotating the can and funnel together about their axes at a predetermined speed, then drawing the sliver through a stationary compacting funnel spaced axially a short distance from the rotating funnel, and then passing the sliver to the spinning frame.

3. The method of converting a sliver into a spun product which comprises: delivering the sliver from a mass thereof in a vertically disposed can by pulling it progres sively vertically therefrom through a first twisting and compacting funnel and then through a second twisting and compacting funnel spaced therefrom along the path of travel of the sliver, twisting the sliver during such travel by rotating the can and the first twisting and com-- pacting funnel at the same angular speed and in the same direction relative to the second twisting and compacting funnel, drawing the thus twisted sliver markedly to attenuate the twisted sliver, and spinning the drawn twisted sliver to yarn.

4. Apparatus for continuously supplying a twisted sliver to a spinning frame, said apparatus comprising: a cylindrical feed can adapted to receive a loosely coiled sliver therein, means rotatably mounting said can for revolution about its axis at a predetermined rate of speed, a compacting funnel mounted coaxially of the can adjacent its open end and rotated with said feed can, and a stationary compacting funnel mounted a short distance from said rotating funnel in the direction of travel of the sliver to the spinning frame.

5. Apparatus for continuously supplying a twisted sliver to a spinning frame, said apparatus comprising: a cylindrical feed can adapted to receive a loosely coiled sliver therein, means rotatably mounting said can for revoltttion about its axis at a predetermined rate of speed, a compacting funnel mounted coaxially of the can adjacent its open end and rotated with said feed can, and a stationary compacting funnel coaxial with said rotated funnel and mounted a short distance therefrom in the direction of travel of the sliver to the spinning frame.

6. Apparatus for continuously supplying a twisted sliver to a spinning frame, said apparatus comprising: a cylindrical feed can adapted to receive a loosely coiled sliver therein, means rotatably mounting said can for revolution about its axis at a predetermined rate of speed, a compacting funnel mounted coaxially of the can adjacent its open end and rotated with said feed can, and means mounted a short distance from the rotating funnel in the direction of travel of the sliver to the spinning frame and adapted to engage the sliver and limit twisting thereof by the rotating can and funnel.

7. Apparatus for continuously supplying a twisted sliver to a spinning frame, said apparatus comprising: means for receiving a cylindrical feed can of loosely coiled sliver, drive mechanism for rotating the can-receiving means at a predetermined rate of speed about the axis of the feed can, a compacting funnel mounted on' the axis of the feed can adjacent the open end thereof a d r tated at th same speed as said feed can and in the same direction, and a stationary compacting funnel coaxial with said rotating funnel and mounted a short distance therefrom in the direction of travel of the sliver to a spinning frame.

8. Apparatus for continuously supplying a twisted sliver to a spinning frame having a stop motion to halt sliver feed upon breakage ofthe yarn, said apparatus comprising: means for receiving a cylindrical feed can of loosely coiled sliver, drive mechanism for rotating the can-receiving means at a predetermined rate of speed about the axis of the feed can, a compacting funnel mounted on the axis of the feed can adjacent the open end thereof and rotated at the same speed as said feed can and in the same direction, a stationary compacting funnel coaxial with said rotating funnel and mounted a short distance therefrom in the direction of travel of the sliver to a spinning frame, and means to halt rotation of the feed can by the drive mechanism upon actuation of the stop motion of the spinning frame.

9. Apparatus for continuously supplying a twisted sliver to a spinning frame, said apparatus comprising: a rotatable support for receiving the base of a cylindrical feed can of loosely coiled sliver, a rotatable guide for receiving the open top of the feed can, the upper portion of the guide having a sliver passage forming a rotating funnel, means for rotating said support to rotate the feed can and guide about their axes at a predetermined rate of speed, and a stationary compacting funnel located a short distance above the guide and lying in the direction of travel of the sliver to the spinning frame.

10. Apparatus for continuously drawing and twisting sliver comprising a cylindrical feed can adapted to receive a loosely coiled sliver therein, means rotatably mounting said can for revolution about its axis at a predetermined rate of speed, a compacting funnel mounted coaxially of the can adjacent its open end and rotated with said feed can, a stationary compacting funnel coaxial with said rotated funnel and mounted a short distance therefrom in the direction of travel of the sliver, and a drawing and spinning frame receiving the sliver directly from the stationary compacting funnel, whereby the sliver progresses continuously from the can, through the funnels, to the drawing and spinning frame.

11. Apparatus for drawing and twisting sliver comprising a rotatable support for receiving the base of a cylindrical feed can of loosely coiled sliver, a rotatable guide for receiving the open top of the feed can, the upper portion of the guide having a sliver passage forming a rotating funnel, means for rotating said support to rotate the feed can about its axis at a predetermined rate of speed, a stationary compacting funnel located a short distance above the guide and lying in the direction of travel of the sliver, and a drawing and spinning frame including a succession of cooperating drawing rolls and a spinning spindle for drawing, twisting, and taking up the twisted sliver, whereby the sliver progresses through the funnels and to the drawing and spinning frame.

12. Apparatus for drawing and twisting sliver comprising means for receiving a cylindrical feed can of loosely coiled sliver, drive mechanism for rotating the can-receiving means at a predetermined rate of speed about the axis of the feed can, a compacting funnel mounted on the axis of the feed can adjacent the open end thereof and rotated at the same speed as said feed can, a stationary compacting funnel coaxial with said rotating funnel and mounted a short distance therefrom in the direction of travel of the sliver, a drawing and spinning frame receiving the sliver directly from the stationary compacting funnel, whereby the sliver progresses continuously from the can, through the funnels, to the drawing and spinning frame, the spinning frame having a stop motion to halt sliver feed upon breakage of the yarn, and means to halt rotation of the feed can by the drive mechanism upon actuation of the stop motion of the spinning frame.

13. Apparatus for continuously supplying a twisted sliver to a spinning frame, said apparatus comprising: a cylindrical feed can adapted to receive a loosely coiled sliver therein, means rotatably mounting the can for revolution about its axis at a predetermined rate of speed, a sliver-compacting means through which the sliver passes mounted coaxially of the can adjacent the open end of the latter and rotated with the feed can, and a stationary sliver-compacting means through which the sliver passes mounted a short distance from said rotating sliver-compacting means in the direction of travel of the sliver to the spinning frame.

14. Apparatus for continuously supplying a twisted sliver to a spinning frame, said apparatus comprising: a cylindrical feed can adapted to receive a loosely coiled sliver therein, means rotatably mounting said can for revolution about its axis at a predetermined rate of speed, a first sliver compacting means presenting a converging, axially directed, sliver-compacting passage mounted coaxially of the can adjacent its open end and rotated with said feed can, and a second, stationary sliver-compacting means presenting a converging axially directed slivercompacting passage mounted a short distance from said rotating sliver-compacting means in the direction of travel of the sliver to the spinning frame, the two sliver-compacting means frictionally binding and compressing the sliver sufficiently so that rotation of the first sliver-compacting means twists the sliver in the space between the two compacting means.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 250,043 Kelley Nov. 22, 1881 733,299 Sui July 7, 1903 2,073,839 Harrison Mar. 16, 1937 2,111,139 Carliss Mar. 15, 1938 2,136,923 Pross Nov. 15, 1938 FOREIGN PATENTS 420,794 Germany Oct. 31, 1925 471,033 Great Britain Aug. 26, 1937 515,672 Great Britain Mar. 2, 1938 

